Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Mr. Jaurena studied bandoneon with his father from a very early age, performing with a children’s tango orchestra at the age of eight. When only 15 years old, he became a member of the popular Donato Raciatti Orchestra of Uruguay. He graduated with honors from the National Conservatory of Uruguay, where he composed his own work for bandoneon for the Symphony of Montevideo. Mr. Jaurena has accompanied some of tango’s most prominent singers, notably Roberto Goyeneche, Edmundo Rivero, Agustin Irusta, among others.
He spent many years performing throughout Latin America, specifically in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Mexico. In Brazil, he recorded for RCA Victor, and in Mexico he performed for Televisa. In Venezuela, he performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and presented his own work, Motivos de Tango, with the National Philharmonic of Venezuela. In Brazil and France he recorded for films. In the United States since 1988, Mr. Jaurena has led his own group in performances at the Lincoln Center, American Music Theater Festival, and the Ethnic and Folk Music Festival in Washington, DC. He has performed with Astor Piazzolla’s Sextet at the Montreal Jazz Festival and on his own with the Faculty of Music at the University of Montreal. For the past five years, he has performed at the Stanford University Tango Workshop, a popular event for tango dancers throughout the United States. In 1995, Mr. Jaurena released a recording, Cabarute, with the New York Tango Trio and, in 1997, as the Music Director of Tango Mundo, he performed in Berlin. Currently, he is the Director of the acclaimed tango group, New York Buenos Aires Connection, which toured Europe and Russia in 1996 with the Irene Hultman Dance Company. He has recorded with Brazilian singer Ana Caram for Chesky Records and with Paquito d’Rivera for Messidor Records.
With the rise of the bandoneon on the concert and recording scene and the renewed interest in the tango-based music of Piazzolla, Jaurena’s talent has become eagerly sought after. He recently performed with Yo-Yo Ma in Boston, with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Hollywood Bowl Philharmonic among others. This is Jaurena’s 10th performance with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra
Raul Jaurena, bandoneón 
